Bitcoin fuels Africa's banking revolution

Bitcoin has landed in Kenya. The online currency that was, until recently, the preserve of tech entrepreneurs and only the most pioneering financiers, is to go mainstream in Nairobi while the rest of us continue to look on gingerly from the sidelines. This is thanks to Kipochi a Bitcoin wallet that will enable users to transfer bitcoins to each other before converting them into local currency. Kipochi – Swahili for “wallet” – will allow Kenyans to send money quickly and cheaply, effectively avoiding the high transaction fees charged by existing services such as moneygram. Enabling the transfer of funds between countries is significant given the huge importance of remittances to Africa’s economy. Remittances from outside Africa dwarf Western aid, for example, and the growth of economic migration across African borders means that transactions are increasingly international. ...